Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton speaks to reporters during a news conference at the Transportation Department in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012, to provide consumer safety information regarding counterfeit airbags and what federal officials are doing to address the issue. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) less

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton speaks to reporters during a news conference at the Transportation Department in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012, to provide consumer safety ... more

Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton, right, accompanied by NHTSA Administrator David Strickland, speak during a news conference at the Transportation Department in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012, to provide consumer safety information regarding counterfeit airbags and what federal officials are doing to address the issue. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) less

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton, right, accompanied by NHTSA Administrator David Strickland, speak during a news conference at the Transportation Department in Washington, ... more

Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta

Image 4 of 4

Counterfeit air bags called 'extreme safety risk'

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WASHINGTON — Thousands of motorists may be driving cars and trucks installed with dangerous counterfeit bags and they should have them replaced at their own expense, the Obama administration warned Wednesday.

Only 0.1 percent of the U.S. vehicle fleet — about 250,000 cars on the road — are makes and models for which counterfeit airbags are known to be available, NHTSA said. Auto industry officials briefed by the agency said they were told that tens of thousands of car owners may be driving vehicles with counterfeit airbags.

In government tests last month of 11 counterfeit bags, 10 didn't inflate or failed to inflate properly. In one test, a counterfeit bag shot flames and shards of metal shrapnel at a crash dummy instead of inflating, said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland, who showed a video of the test at a news conference.

"It is an extreme safety risk," he said.

NHTSA is asking car owners to check a government website, www.Safercar.gov, for information on how to contact auto manufacturer call centers to learn if their vehicle model is among those for which counterfeit airbags are known to have been made.

No deaths or injuries have been tied to the counterfeit bags, NHTSA said. But it's unclear whether police accident investigators would be able to identify a counterfeit bag from a genuine one, industry officials said.

"Airbags save several thousands of lives annually. But they can't save lives if they have not been repaired properly," he said.

NHTSA has compiled a list of dozens of vehicle makes and models for which counterfeit airbags may be available, but the agency cautioned that the full scope of the problem isn't clear yet and the list is expected to "evolve over time."

If a car model is on the list and has had its airbags replaced during the past three years by a repair shop other than a new car dealership, NHTSA is asking owners to take the vehicle into a dealership or repair shop to be inspected at their own expense to determine whether the replaced airbags are counterfeit.